Dielectric material



Plented Feb. l2, 19,46..-

MEN? OFI-ics nmmo'rmc MATERIAL Judson N. Detrlck, oak- Park, m., signor aiv Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 10, 1942, Serial No. 450,429

3 Claims. (Ci. 175-41) This invention relates to dielectric materials and more particularly electrostatic condensers embodying such dielectric materials.

An object of the present invention is toprovide an improved dielectric material for an elec trostatic condenser so as to obtain high capacity in proportion to volume and improved operating characteristics in the condenser.

In some types of electrostatic oondenscrs a strip of paper may be provided with a coating oi dielec tric material, and the coated strip positioned be tween. two metal electrodes. The capacity of such a condenser is inversely proportional to the disd tance between the electrodes and directly propera tional to the dielectric constant of the insulating medium, i. e., the dielectric between the clectzmdes9 other factors beine equal. It is, therefore, de,n sira'hle to employ a material having a dielectric constant and at the same time to apply this material to the supporting strip in a thin, dense layer order to obtain maximum unit capacity and to minimize the required electrode area and ultimate size and cost of the condenser.

Clertain crystalline materials possess very high dielectric constants in comparison with paper or mica. have a specific inductive capacity as high' as 1.70 aloha' their principal or maior axis and approximatcly 90 along their transverse axis. A random or unoriented mixture of titanium dioxide crystals has a dielectric constant of about 110. However, the use of titanium dioxide as a dielectric material is subject to certain limitations and a primary limitation has been the diiiiculty in ap.. plying the titanium dioxide to the condenser electrodes in a sufllciently thin and dense layer.

In accordance with one embodiment of this invention, a paper or foil base is provided with a coating of finely divided titanium` dioxide crystals suspended in a binder of polyvinyl alcohol. The

For example, titanium dioxide crystals coated base is then dried, calendered. and pOsiwill be apparent from th'e following detailed description taken in conjunction with the following drawing, wherein 4 Fig. 1 shows ,diagrammatically o condenser con structed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view aong line Z-E of Fig. l.;

Fig. 3 shows diegrammatically a coizidenser constructed in accordance with another eriibcdimcnt of this invention;

Fig. 4 is au. enlarged cross sectiooai view aioiig the line 4--i ci Fig. d;

llig. 5 shows diagraniuatlcelly a condenser constructed, in. accordance with' a further custodiment ci' this invention;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view the line lm of me. li, ce

Fig. 7 is graph sh on the dielectric constant of i dioxide.

The capacity of condenser on the dielectric constant the dielectric material used. Titanium dioxide, which, its crystals are in a random or unorieirited position. has a dielectric constant ilo, may be suspended. in a binder having a much lower dielectric con stent. The net dielectric constant oi the dielccu tric body so formed will he lower than of the titanium dioxide alone. At the same time, in order to obtain maximum eilectlve' dielectric constant in the dielectric body, theparticlcs of dielectric material must be bound together closely and densely as possible. Thos, it is de sirable that a minimum amount oi binder terial be used commensurate with satisfactory binding.

Polyvinyl alcohol has av dielectric constant which, although highs;- than that of many dielectric materials, is substantially lower than that of titanium dioxide. However a very small amount of polyvinyl alcohol will bind together a pro porticnately great amount of titanium dioxide; for example, grams of polyvinyl alcohol will bind 3200 grams of titanium dioxide into *a tough body suitable for use as the dielectric body in a condenser. From 2.5% to 10% of polyvinyl alcohol as 'a binder gives satisfactory results.

Polyvinyl alcohol is water soluble and, when wet, swells to many times its dry volume. A large weight percentage of titanium dioxide may be dispersed in an aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol and will form a relatively stable suspension. Upon drying, the polyvinyl alcohol shrinks to its original dry volume, thus binding the titanium dioxide crystals firmly together to form an extremely demo body. Since a relatively small amount of polyvinyl alcohol is used, to a large degrec the dielectric constant of the dielectric body will represent the dielectric constant of the titanium dioxide. The eilect on dielectric constant oi polyvinyl alcohol or any binder in a mixture dioxide is shown in Fig. l from coating composition hav-- "cal and electrical characg a foil or paper hase may be n c suitable apparatus, such ams of polyvinyl alcohol, um dioxide, and 2900 cc. of composition thus obtained .ce i2 oi foil, cloth or paper, or steriel as shown in Figs. l and tric nlm i4 approximately 00065" thick. `ice binder is an aqueous susp ion, a wa r prooied paper, or paper having nigh wet strength, should be used. The thickness of the coating may be increased by decreasing the amount of water used, or decreased by increasing amount of water used as a solvent for the binder. The thickness of the coating may also 'ce controlled to a certain degree by the speed with which the material is passed through the coating material.

The coated base may then be calendered or pressed to compact the coating. A water strong paper that may be used in the manufacture oi condensers is approximately .0017" thick. When coated with a composition prepared as described above, the coated paper will have a thickness of approximately .003". The coated paper may then be reduced in thickness by calendering between steel rolls and a reduction in thickness of from 40% to 70% may be achieved in this way. Since the capacity oi the condenser is inversely proportional to the thickness of the dielectric body, a reduction in thickness of the dielectric body will result in an increase in capacity of the condenser.

The coated and calendered strip may then be further dried by heating. The period of heat treatment depends on the water retentivity of the coating. The removal of the water tends to increase the insulating properties of the polyvinyl alcohol and to further densify the coating by causing the polyvinyl alcohol to shrink. The coated, calendered, and dried strip may then be positioned between two metal plates or electrodes, or wound between two metal strips l and il to form an electrostatic condenser I3'.

In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, the insulating and nlm forming qualities of polyvinyl alcohol may be utilized by coating the electrodes of a condenser with polyvinyl alcohol to form an insulating nlm thereover. Usually dielectric bodies are made up of several sheets, or strips of material, multiple layers being used to avoid the effect of possible pin a, to forni ol one embodiment of this holes and conducting spots in the sheets, it being very unlikely that several pin holes or conducting spots would coincide to permit a short circuit between the electrodes. However, by providing the electrodes themselves with a thin insulating coating, the necessity of using laminated dielectric bodies is obviated, thus permitting the use of thinner dielectric bodies with proportional increase in condenser capacity.

In accordance with this embodiment oi' the present invention, aqueous solution comprising, for example, up to 7% oi polyvinyl alcohol may be coated on a pair of metallic electrodes I8 and i8 to form insulating illms Il and I9 on the electrodes i8 and I8 respectively. The coating may then be dried by heating. In this way, a tough, dielectric insulating tllm as thin as .0002" may be obtained. A film of polyvinyl alcohol as thin as .0002" is tough enough to be peeled from a spatula without breaking. The insulating properties of the nlm are such that it will withstand voltages as high as volts. A dielectric body such as a single paper strip is then positioned between the coated electrodes to form a. condenser. The use of a single layer condenser body is made possible by the fact that the electrodes are provided with an insulating coating and therefore the possible presence of pin holes or conducting spots in the paper, is of no serious import. The paper strip may be coated with a dielectric material depending on the dielectric qualities required.

In accordance wlth a further embodiment of this invention, a strip of paper-may be coated on both sides with polyvinyl alcohol to form a dielectric lm 24, the coating dried, the coated paper 23 calendered or rolled to reduce its thickness and to compact the coating, and then positioned between two electrodes 22, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, to form an electrostatic condenser. The polyvinyl alcohol forms a very thin, tough insulating nlm on the paper. When dried and calendered, the total thickness of the film on the paper may be only .0002". Thus, the electrodes may be positioned very closely together with consequent increase in condenser capacity.

While but three embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is: l

l. A condenser comprising a pair of electrodes and a dielectric film between said electrodes of comminuted dielectric material in a binder of polyvinyl alcohol.

2. A condenser comprising a pair of electrodes and a dielectric film between said electrodes of a comminuted titanium compound in a. binder of polyvinyl alcohol.

3. A condenser comprising a pair of electrodes and a dielectric film between said electrodes of comminuted titanium dioxide in a binder of polyvinyl alcohol.

JUDSON N. DETRICK. 

